


Captain Hook's Second Deepest Secret

by wordsbymeganmichael



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Crack, F/M, Missing Scene, Post-Neverland (Once Upon a Time)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:54:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23481295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsbymeganmichael/pseuds/wordsbymeganmichael
Summary: On their trip back to Storybrooke after rescuing Henry from Neverland, Killian finds himself divulging his other secret to Emma, a secret that he has managed to keep to himself for hundreds of years.
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan
Comments: 8
Kudos: 79





	Captain Hook's Second Deepest Secret

**Author's Note:**

> Based off this post: https://amentian.com/post/7rwQX -- absolute crack fic.

“Hook?” He hears her, her voice soft outside the door of the cabin. And he knows it’s  _ her _ — who else would it be, here? Because it’s certainly not the Evil Queen. And, as much as he is slowly growing to like the Prince, his voice sounds much different. The ship hits turbulence and he feels the way the air moves around him, a feeling that he certainly didn’t miss, a movement that he feels deep within his chest, and he almost— 

But then — “Killian?” 

There is something in her voice beyond just apology, though the last thing he intended was for her to believe he was mad at her. But something in her led her to use his name, his  _ real _ name and not just his moniker. Does she know that she is the first person in years ( _ hundreds _ of them) to call him that? 

(Does she know that she is the first person in hundreds of years that he  _ wants  _ to call him that, that he wants to reveal the deepest pieces of himself to, that he doesn’t want to hide from? He said something along those lines in the Echo Caves, when he bared his heart to her — to everyone — but does she know just how deep that secret goes? Certainly she cannot — but  _ maybe _ she does?) 

Not this, though.  _ This  _ is not one of those secrets that he wants to reveal. At least not so quickly, or being in such a vulnerable position. Besides, it is part of this facade he has built, the reason behind most of his on-ship  _ storming away _ ’s, which have apparently become something he is known for. But no one — not Smee, not his crew, not even Milah, and certainly not Emma Swan — knows the real reason. 

The only person who did was his brother, the only man who ever truly knew who he was, who he wanted to be, but that secret joined him at the bottom of the ocean the day they laid him to rest, the very day that it proved to be a problem. 

Because he — Killian Jones, the infamous  _ Captain Hook _ , world-renowned pirate captain and, apparently, fairy tale villain — had a very secret, very embarrassing proclivity to airsickness, which sometimes even rears itself in the form of  _ seasickness _ when nervous.  _ He _ , the man who spent the last  _ centuries _ of his life on the sea, was inclined to lose the contents of his stomach in times of trouble. He set fire to that bloody Pegasus Sail, the very object that led to the first time he had the pleasure of losing the contents of his stomach in his brother’s cabin. Though the circumstances were not opportune, he thought that burning that damned sail would be the end of it all. 

As he breathes through another turn of his stomach, he realizes that he has never answered her, and he hopes that he has not mucked this up like he has mucked up everything else. Even as his stomach continues to fight against the rocking of the ship in the clouds, he  _ begs  _ it to stay calm, hoping that something other than nausea is written across his face as he opens the door. 

“Hello, Swan,” he says, hoping that leaning against the frame of the cabin door keeps his stomach from churning. 

(He’s wrong.) 

“Hey, Hook,” she says, and he would be a liar to say her return to using his moniker doesn’t feel like a jab in the chest. “I just wanted to… thank you. For all your help in Neverland. In getting Henry back.” 

He feels the same wave of cocky optimism that he felt after saving the prince’s life, when she kissed him — and then the ship hits turbulence again, knocking him off his already-unsteady feet and into the other side of the door frame, but he reaches out his other arm — no, his hook — to try to steady Emma, wrapping his arm around her waist as they both find their footing. She regains her balance with her hands on her chest, one of them holding tight to the collar of his jacket, again reminiscent of what she was so quick to deem a  _ one-time thing,  _ but there is a brightness in her eyes that he recognizes from that moment — one that he has played over and over in his mind — and he  _ almost  _ allows himself to believe that her  _ one-time thing _ is about to happen again. 

And then his stomach turns, and he pushes himself away from her just in time to set his aim over the bucket before losing the contents of his stomach. 

She is by his side in moments, setting a hand on his leather-clad shoulder. “Hook! Are you alright?” 

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he stands erect, managing a small laugh as he turns to face her. “Well, love, now you know the deepest secret of the infamous Captain Hook.” 

He meets her eyes, already feeling the warmth of embarrassment rush to his cheeks and the tip of his ears, and her emerald eyes are wide with realization. 

She tries not to laugh. It doesn't work. “Are you trying to tell me that…  _ you _ … get…” 

It’s almost as if she can’t bring herself to say the word. She probably can’t, he realizes. Just the thought of it makes him laugh: he’s the one that just threw up in front of her, and she’s the one who is tongue-tied. 

“Sick while in the air? Aye.” 

Eyes still wide, she stays silent for a moment — but just a moment, before a smile slowly forms across her lips, holding still there before a soft laugh tumbles from her lips. She tries to cover it with the back of her hand, and though he appreciates the gesture, it doesn’t hide the laugh. He feigns shock, lifting his hand to his chest, before he can no longer stop his own smile from gracing his lips. 

“I’m sorry,” she says, the words still stuck between laughs. 

“No need to be sorry, love,” he says, and she finally meets his eyes to notice the smile spread across his features. “It is a bit of an absurdity, though it has managed to be one that I’ve kept to myself in all the years since it began.” 

“You mean…” she starts, but is unable to come up with any more, until, “No one?” 

All he does is nod. It’s all he has to do. He has words on the tip of his tongue, a quick comeback about  _ sharing secrets  _ and it being  _ her turn  _ to divulge another, but the unmistakable sound of someone on the steps behind them stops any of the words from reaching his lips. He takes a step back, further into the cabin, as if the few paces between them were scandalous. 

“Emma?” They hear Snow White’s voice before she turns the corner. “Emma, are you—” Her words stop short when she finds them both in the lieutenant’s cabin, a soft smile gracing her lips as her eyes meet his first, then Emma’s. 

“What?” Emma’s response is short, and Killian almost would go so far as to say that there’s a hint of… anger isn’t the right word. Impatience, maybe, in her voice. Killian can’t help the small tick of the corner of his lips into a smile when he hears it. 

“It’s Henry, he’s on deck with Neal. He’s asking for you.” 

Only Killian sees the roll of her eyes. 

“Yeah, okay, I’ll — I’ll be right there.” 

Everything in the room stops for a moment, Snow White’s eyes flitting back and forth between the two of them. And then she nods, her eyes dropping to the floorboards, her smile only growing before she turns away from them. 

“Listen,” he starts when the footsteps on the steps have ceased, but she stops his words by reaching out, resting her hand on his arm. 

“You don’t have to worry, Hook,” she says, a softness in her voice unlike anything he’s heard before. “Your secret is safe with me, I promise.” 

“I appreciate that, love,” he replies, filling the space between them with just two steps, and he can feel her breath on his cheek, but he does not turn to meet her eyes. “Perhaps soon enough you’ll divulge one of your own in return.” 

She scoffs, but smiles, shaking her head. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” 

He feels her take a breath before she backs away from him, and only then does he turn his attention to her. “Perhaps I would, love.” 

But she’s gone. 


End file.
